tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28718111866019226322018-03-06T03:45:55.137-05:00Eclectic RamblingsRamblings of an Accidental Homeschooling Mom about Education, Motherhood, Faith, Living with a Disability, and Whatever Else Pops Into My Lil' Ole Head.Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-46302488084555767062012-10-11T15:42:00.002-04:002012-10-11T15:49:22.111-04:00Learning about Personality TypesThe boy recently overheard a conversation between me and my Mom where I mentioned that I had one of the rarest personality types (INFj). I didn't think anything of it. A few days later he asked me what that was all about, so I told him and asked him if he wanted to take a test to find out what his was. I had already pegged him as an INTJ a while back when I was learning about personality types, so I thought this was a good opportunity to find out if I was right.<br /><br />I was really impressed that he stayed interested long enough to answer a little over 70 questions that were on the version of the Briggs-Meyers test that we were using. A few times I had to explain what the question was asking because they were worded a little odd. There were two questions on the quiz that asked something regarding whether or not he was comfortable sharing his emotions or talking about his feelings, I could tell he was uncomfortable answering those questions, but instead of saying this was stupid or quitting the test like I would have guessed that he would do, he acted like it could go either way; he picked up an empty candy wrapper on his desk and tossed it like a coin designating one side for one choice and the other side for the second choice. Good cover!<br /><br />He finished the test and my suspicions were correct. Yep, he's an InTj. He didn't test as high on the introverted part as I had guessed, but he has a very strong T trait. He wanted to know what all the letters meant, so we read about that. Next we looked up some famous people who have the same personality type, and we read about the traits of an INTJ. I laughed as I was reading some of them to him, because I could tell that he knew that WAS him to a T. (no pun intended).<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">INTJ strengths:<br /><blockquote><ul><li>Immune to conflict, criticism and emotional manipulation <i>(Tell me about it! Rewards and punishments never worked)</i></li><li>Confident in their abilities and knowledge<i> (Overly confident at times- can spout of something as fact that no one would know was wrong unless they look it up)</i></li><li>Very strong drive and determination <i>(if it is has a real purpose)</i></li><li>Serious attitude towards relationships and responsibilities&nbsp;</li><li>Excellent ability to listen <i>(remembers everything- even when he doesn't appear to be paying attention)</i></li><li>Usually very talented and insightful <i>(so true)</i></li><li>Able to swiftly terminate the relationship when necessary&nbsp;</li><li>Desire to constantly improve relations&nbsp;</li></ul></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">INTJ weaknesses, on the other hand, mostly focus on their lower emotional sensitivity and a sense of intellectual superiority. If you are an INTJ, you are probably thinking that there is nothing negative about these “weaknesses” – however, they should be recognised and addressed because the INTJ personality tends to be quite “black and white”, which is not always beneficial.<br /><blockquote><ul><li>Poor understanding of emotions – INTJ can sometimes be insensitive <i>(true)</i></li><li>Preferred reaction to any conflict – cold logic and rationality rather than the emotional support, which may be more desirable <i>(ever so logical)</i></li><li>Tendency to believe that they are always right <i>(How COULD they be wrong?)</i></li><li>Unwillingness or inability to accept blame <i>(See previous comment)</i></li><li>Constant urge to improve everything could complicate relations&nbsp;</li><li>Tendency to be fixated about the privacy and personal space&nbsp;</li></ul></blockquote></blockquote><br /><br />We also looked at the types of careers that fit his personality type. They are all ones that I have noticed him naturally preparing for. Strategist, computer analysist or related fields, scientist, professor, lawyer, engineer.<br /><br />I also jokingly told him that the biggest difference between how we make decisions was that he's a thinker and I'm a feeler. He has always tried to out logic me.<br /><br />Now we have fallen into playing this fun little mental game where several of our conversations the past few days have become some version of him responding to me with "I THINK ....". &nbsp;I come back with "I FEEL that you should THINK ...." He comes back with some other logical point and this goes back and forth until I have nothing to come back with, so I pull the PARENT card. The PARENT card always wins! Even in a fun debate..right? <i>(In a perfect world anyway)&nbsp;</i><br /><br />This new insight that he has about his personality type has already motivated him to make some&nbsp;positive&nbsp;adjustments - especially about thinking others are&nbsp;intellectually&nbsp;inferior when they don't know something that is common knowledge to him. I really do think this will help him with his social skills.<br /><br />Yet,&nbsp;I'm still wondering whether if it was a good thing to give away some of my "inside information" that was helping me finally stay MORE than one step ahead of him.&nbsp;I can see his gears turning and him thinking of ways to use this new self awareness against me when I least expect it.<br /><br />I wonder if there is a support group for parents of the INTJ..maybe I should start one.<i> </i>Just kidding<i>- mostly</i>&nbsp; &nbsp;:)<br /><br />_____________<br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/T-TXLSYLDDg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/learning-about-personality-types.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-62809885280734375282012-10-09T15:52:00.003-04:002012-10-12T14:11:52.364-04:00Learning as a Result of Strewing and Rabbit Trails<br>One of the definitions of Unschooling is child-led learning. I think a lot of people who don&#39;t &quot;get&quot; Unschooling think that means if a child doesn&#39;t specifically ASK to learn about something then they won&#39;t learn about that thing. I don&#39;t like that definition very much because that is completely opposite of how the Unschooly side of things works around here most of the time.<br><br>Yeah, Padawan does take interest in things that he researches and learns about, but he also learns many things that he would not specifically ask to learn as a by product of just living or as the result of something that I have strewn. It may be even something totally different than what I thought would come from it, and I usually end up learning just as much as he does!<br><br>Other times a rabbit trail gets started as a result of something that he&#39;s overheard in a conversation, or his &quot;need&quot; to figure out a math problem from a game he&#39;s been playing.<br><br>Here&#39;s a look at a chain of learning that occurred partly because of a TV series that I strew and partly because the weather has been agreeable to us finally being able enjoy being outside.<br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/learning-as-result-of-strewing-and.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/pcvtFxC9dTc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/learning-as-result-of-strewing-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-36723112622738042312012-10-08T22:21:00.001-04:002012-10-12T14:12:12.388-04:00Fractions- We don't need no stinkin' fractions!<br>I keep a private blog for our homeschool, mainly because I like to have a place to keep up with our virtual links, online accounts, and other things I come across on the internet; otherwise I tend to keep notes and links scattered among all of our computers and various pieces of paper and notebooks around the house. We use the comments area to share links for each other that are accessible from either computer.<br><br>It is also a good way for me to keep track of what we have done throughout the school year for when I have to write my end of the year assessment for our records. Our first year I started out keeping notes on a legal pad, but this seems to work better.<br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I even added a Shelfari widget to make a virtual library on the blog to organize and display the hoard (yes, hoard) of free ebooks that I have collected for my Kindle.<br><br>Our little blog makes me feel super organized- <i>even though I &#39;m really not. </i><br><br>Since Padawan insists that we MUST do school, one thing that works really well for us during the official school year is for me to make a blog post at the beginning of each week for which lessons come next and to strew things for our tentative plans.<br><br>Over the weekend I take a quick look over the lessons from all of his curriculum, and add the topic for the scheduled lessons, then I strew some suggested activities, Youtube videos, links, and a couple suggestions from Netflix. <br><br>It doesn&#39;t take very long to do this and it makes everything look and feel official.<br><br><b>I said all of that so I could tell you this...</b><i>yeah, that&#39;s how my brain works.</i><br><br><br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/fractions-we-dont-need-no-stinkin.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/eLXZW8KGoIM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/fractions-we-dont-need-no-stinkin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-88799800723322150142012-10-07T17:21:00.000-04:002012-10-12T14:12:37.399-04:00Question Everything<br>We&#39;re coming up on the 2 year anniversary of when Padawan out of Public School. I think we have pretty much found our groove. We still don&#39;t fit under any one homeschooling label. My views toward education lean toward radical unschooling more than anything, but if someone looks at how we do things we probably look more like a family of (mostly radical) Relaxed Homeschoolers. That&#39;s ok; I&#39;d rather just do what we do and let the labels fall where they may. The downside to this is that sometimes I worry that others may perceive me as talking out of both sides of my mouth or not practicing what I preach. <br><br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/question-everything.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/36xRpSCSIHU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/10/question-everything.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-65032539568157850342012-05-06T13:55:00.003-04:002012-05-06T13:55:57.255-04:00Snippets from Unschooling (#2)<br />Seven snippets from our life since the last time I posted - <strike>a week ago...</strike>has it been two weeks already?!?!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~1~</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://winging-it.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/unschool-snippets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://winging-it.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/unschool-snippets.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>We celebrated 2 birthdays last weekend. Padawan and my Dad both share a birthday.***<br />&nbsp;My parents came over for lunch and cake. Then they took the boy home with them. (It was his weekend to spend the night.)<br /><br />My mother-in-law was in the hospital with breathing problems, so she didn't get to come. She has COPD. She's home now and doing better, but we found out this week that she has 30% lung capacity. Any less and she would need a lung transplant.<br /><br /><br /><i>***I'm pretty sure Padawan planned to be born on that day. I was hoping for an Easter or Good Friday baby (which would have been just a few days before or right around my due date- can't remember exactly now) But he held out for 11 extra days so he could be born on my Dad's birthday. Which in pregnant impatient Mom-to-be time that equates to F O R E V E R.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>My labor sort of began around 3 am the morning of Dad's birthday. Since my doctor was planning on inducing me in two days anyway, they cranked up the Pitocin after I got to the hospital (around 8 am) to help speed things along.&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>I was ready to start pushing sometime around 9 pm. Just to keep us in suspense, he drug out the drama until about 20 minutes before midnight . Yeah, I was watching the clock the whole time I was pushing- when 11:30 pm came around I was starting to sweat! The problem was his "melon" head was stuck &nbsp;for what seemed like F O R E V E R. The doctor sent for the suction cup, but he finally popped out before they could use it.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>Told ya- he's been stubborn since the beginning.</i><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~2~</b></div><br />Padawan's public school friend came over twice this week. They traded some Legos - as usual.<br /><br />They've been trading Legos and Hot Wheels since Kindergarten. Friend's Mom used to be against trading, but I've always kind of always kept a blind eye to the situation. <i>Does that make me a bad influence? I promise I wouldn't let someone else's kid smoke or do bad things under my watchful eye. Really.</i><br /><br />They also talked about the new Scottish Lego Mini-figures and have plans to get some to make some sort of WWII scene involving the Scottish Infantry. Once again, he's teaching me history. It's good to be homeschooled. haha<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~3~</b></div>:sigh:<br />We have a car situation. Err...more of a lack of a car situation. We do still have an old Ford truck so we are not totally without transportation. But it is a gas hog.<br /><br />Back in November Hubby was in a minor accident when a DUI driver hit him and ran. Hubby did manage to chase the guy down. Long story short. The insurance company total lossed our 1989 Plymouth. So, although it only has cosmetic damage- it also has a salvage title and is not street legal.<br /><br />Right around New Year's, we used some of the money from that to replace the rack and pinion in our 2001 Dodge that had been sitting for about a year. Soon after the car started making a funny noise. Our multiple-award-winning-auto--technician brother-in-law had never heard such a noise and did not know what was causing it.<br /><br />We found out over the weekend. It was the tranny. Yep. Now we have an insurable car that can't be driven and a perfectly good car that can't be insured.<br /><br />We're weighing our options. Fix the 2001 car or find a body for the engine and transmission for the other car or....<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~4~</b></div>I haven't mentioned that hubs STILL isn't working. So the car solution will have to wait. <i>Orientation has not been his friend!</i><br />Once again. I'm thankful for my parents. We're borrowing Dad's truck just in case hubby gets hired next week by one company that looks promising.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~5~</b></div>I strewed pc game this week. Cold War - Supreme Ruler. Padawan and I played it for a couple of hours. He said it would be more fun if he had done the tutorial. But it was pretty fun watching him play.<br /><br />He played as the United Kingdom (since he is on a Scottish kick this week). He raised taxes to 95% to quickly get enough money to build the things he wanted. Then I watched him try to make an deal with North Vietnam, but they couldn't come to an agreement.<br /><br />I was asking question and trying to <b>act</b> like I was playing dumb about different countries' involvement in various wars. <i>I really didn't know. </i>He once again baffled me with his historical knowledge.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~6~</b></div>I also strewed a link to a math website. It's called <a href="http://www.mathmovesu.com/mmu-games/" target="_blank">MathMovesU</a>. I want to hug whoever shared that link, but I don't even remember which of the several Homeschool groups it was shared in.<br />This is the first time that he has been engaged with any online math game.<br /><br />He checked it out a few days ago and made an account. Last night he wanted to do school. (Yeah, wanted to do school on a Saturday night.)<br /><br />So, he decided to play on that website. He had to answer some multi-step math questions to complete some of the steps in one of the games. (He was building a roller coaster.)<br /><br />He asked me for help on some of the questions. I helped him sort through the information and determine what steps he needed to do to solve the problem. For the most part he knew exactly what to do.<i> And I remembered how to find the circumference of a circle!</i><br /><br />Then I told him it was ok to use the calculator to do the...well..calculating. He was a little leary and thought I was letting him cheat! I told him he was more than welcome to do the calcuations by hand if he wanted to.<br /><br />Afterward there was even an inquisition (from him) about me letting him use a calculator. I think he thinks I'm a slacker teacher. :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~7~</b></div>I'm still loving my job, and Padawan has been helping me here and there by giving me pointers. He showed me how to make a zip file yesterday. Where does this kid learn this stuff?<br /><br />I'm setting up an Etsy shop for my sister-in-law who crochets. She's all excited. I'm also doing a pro bono website for her..just so I can add it to my portfolio. (Which is pretty empty at the moment)<br /><br />______________<br />And there you have it. 7 Snippets from our Unschoolish life.<br /><br />You can join up at Carma's blog, <a href="http://winging-it.me/">Winging-it.me</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/auu8ZeUQmm0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/05/snippets-from-unschooling-2.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-46746729778316838682012-04-22T22:15:00.002-04:002012-10-07T16:45:01.215-04:00Snippits From Unschooling<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://winging-it.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/unschool-snippets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://winging-it.me/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/unschool-snippets.jpg" width="200"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>-1-</b><br><div style="text-align: justify;">We&#39;ve finally been spending some time OUTSIDE. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Padawan has taken a (renewed) interest in Air Soft guns. He spent his birthday money on a new a rifle complete with scope. My parents were gracious enough to let him have his present a couple of weeks early since the weather has been so nice and we all know it could get hot and humid here any time now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/04/snippits-from-unschooling.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/jEnUbpmYiTw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com3http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/04/snippits-from-unschooling.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-80996881339848916442012-03-20T16:18:00.001-04:002012-10-07T16:44:46.671-04:00Before and After<b></b><br><b>Unschooling Typing, Spelling, and Writing</b> <br>A Progress Report...<br><br>I know I&#39;ve mentioned before that I started suspecting Padawan has dysgraphia not long before I pulled him out of public school in November 2010. He is also not a natural speller. And forget about anything handwritten being legible, unless he takes a REALLY long time to write it.<br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/before-and-after.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/enPKUiWX-Bw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com3http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/before-and-after.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-62663673631944582112012-03-17T23:33:00.000-04:002012-04-22T22:35:38.608-04:00Our Conversation About The StandardsMy child is a riot. Sometimes I can't decide if he's trying to parent me, give me hints on how to parent him, or if he's just outright messing with my head.<br /><br />Since we've been home educating, I haven't been following "The Almighty Standards" that had been drilled into his head from 3rd to 5th grade. I did look over "The Standards" (a) to be nosey, (b) to see what his friend would be doing in school this year, (c) to see if I wanted to plan any of that for the Middle School Years, (d) to <strike>see</strike> praise God for what I would not be stressing out over for the first school year since Standard Based Education began. <i>&nbsp;</i><br /><br />Well, apparently Padawan had been <strike>thinking</strike> missing all the hoopla about "The Standards" in his new life and decided to have an impromptu talk with me about it.<br /><br />(I can't remember word for word, but this is the general gist of the conversation.)<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Padawan:</span> <i>(randomly stops what he is doing, sits at the edge of the recliner, crosses his legs, and leans towards me as he begins to speak in a tone that sounds freakishly like Ben Stein) </i>Mooooom, you don't really like The Standards...dooooo youuuuuu?<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Me:</span> <i>(trying not to laugh at the serious look on his face)</i> No, I don't much care for them. Why do you ask?<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Him:</span> <i>(in a sing-song voice)</i> I'm just asking.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Me: </span>Ok.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Him:</span> <i>(waits a minute for a dramatic effect)</i> Whyyyy don't you like The Standards?<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Me:</span> Do you really want to know what I think about the Standards?<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Him:</span> Yes.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Me:&nbsp;</span> I think a lot of them are random. The Standards stress the kids and teachers out too much when half of them are repeated on the next grades list. The teachers have to teach you the actual list of Standards instead of just teaching to the Standards.&nbsp; Besides, when you were in 3rd grade they were having you do things that I didn't do til High School because of the Standards. They should save some things to learn in High School.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Him: </span>Well, you went to school waayyy back in the 80's things have changed since then.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"></span></span><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Me: (appreciating him pointing out just how ancient I am becoming) </span>Do you want to follow "The Standards"? I can print out a checklist, and we can follow "The Standards".&nbsp; <br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;,Courier,monospace;">Him:</span> No, I was just asking.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/zsi5mjhJoXM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/our-conversation-about-standards.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-51946349629481554832012-03-17T14:14:00.003-04:002012-03-17T23:31:00.240-04:00We Really Don't "Do School" - Just So You KnowWe&#39;ve been home educating for a little over a year now. I have done a lot of de-schooling and had a complete paradigm shift. I completely understand Unschooling. I know that encouraging and letting Padawan follow his interests works, because I have seen the results even before we began home educating. I just didn&#39;t know there was a name for what we had been doing in addition to sending him to school.<br><br>On the other hand, Padawan has not de-schooled as much as I have and he has NOT had a paradgim shift - even though his actions, attitude, and insights pertaining to school and the system were the catalyst for said paradigm shift on my part. <i>I had to read things by Gatto, Holt, and others to see the things he already figured out. </i><br><br>This leads to some interesting conversations around here. I thought I would start sharing them on my blog.<br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/we-really-dont-do-school-just-so-you.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/50rS5uujUyI" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/we-really-dont-do-school-just-so-you.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-5937738974547040282012-03-13T12:01:00.003-04:002012-03-17T23:31:27.356-04:00Looking for Some Self Confidence<b>Update on the income situation: </b><i>My husband was hired with a company a week or so ago. He&#39;s done the preliminary paperwork, and orientation is scheduled for next week. Hopefully all that will go well, and he will be working the week after that. Is it too soon to say YAY??</i><br><br><br><b>In other news: </b><br><br>I have some experience building websites and dabble in graphic design, brochures, business cards, etc. Well, I used to. At one time I was really into &quot;the zone&quot;. The past 2 or 3 years...not so much. (Besides what little I&#39;ve done to this blog).<br><br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/looking-for-some-self-confidence.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/tH2_TJs95so" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/looking-for-some-self-confidence.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-29900790788140138892012-03-03T04:42:00.001-05:002012-03-17T23:31:51.796-04:00SighWow. It&#39;s been over 2 months since I&#39;ve written anything for my blog. <br>I guess its about time for a little update.<br><br>First the good news. I think we are hitting our stride with this home education thing for the most part. I&#39;ll try to write more about what we&#39;ve been doing in another post.<br><br>Now the bad news. My husband lost his job two weeks ago.<br><br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/sigh.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/xgEsFYeHOA4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2012/03/sigh.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-46670497300666197582011-12-23T21:53:00.000-05:002011-12-23T21:53:19.311-05:00Merry Christmas!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c38ieudJ9SE/TvTiLLd97VI/AAAAAAAAANs/Du2jSNFCoB8/s1600/DSCN3196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c38ieudJ9SE/TvTiLLd97VI/AAAAAAAAANs/Du2jSNFCoB8/s200/DSCN3196.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,<br />The gladness of Christmas give you hope,<br />The warmth of Christmas grant you love.<br />~Author Unknown</i></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/vKv3WeIFj_w" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/merry-christmas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-22951412484110146272011-12-22T13:07:00.000-05:002011-12-22T13:07:13.527-05:00Parenting Wild Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bohemianbowmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wildthings2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://bohemianbowmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wildthings2.png" width="254" /></a></div>Today, Jessica over at <a href="http://bohemianbowmans.com/free-copy-of-parenting-wild-things/" target="_blank">Bohemian Bowman's</a> is giving away a free copy of her ebook, Parenting Wild things. I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but it has been getting great reviews in my circle of online friends. Hop on over there to see what it is all about and to find out how you can get your own copy.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/Xqwc-iP1hHw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/parenting-wild-things.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-72636306140056931882011-12-13T02:54:00.000-05:002011-12-13T02:54:25.627-05:00I'm About To Get Preachy, Ya'llIt doesn't happen often. I usually keep my opinions to myself..avoid controversy and conflict and all that goes along with it. Yeah, that. <br /><br />BUT...<br /><br />This is my little corner of the internet, so here I go...<br /><br />I've been thinking about the whole Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas controversy that has been going on for the past several years.<br /><br /><i>I decided this year I'm going to say both. I mean there ARE several Holidays going on this time of year. I can say Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas and cover every single holiday from Thanksgiving through New Years.</i><br /><br />I'm sure anyone who has a Facebook account has seen this little copy and paste thingy going around..<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: #cccccc;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">I DO NOT CARE IF THIS OFFENDS SOMEONE: THIS IS WHAT I BELIEVE--I AM SICK AND TIRED OF EVERY YEAR, WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS BECAUSE IT MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE! WELL, HOW ABOUT ALL OF US CHRISTIANS? WHAT ABOUT OFFENDING US BECAUSE YOU ARE TAKING OUR... CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS? CHRIST IS CHRISTMAS! IF YOU AREN'T CELEBRATING CHRIST, THEN WHY ARE YOU CELEBRATING? CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR! CHRISTMAS IS ONE OF A FEW HOLIDAYS LEFT THAT CELEBRATE "MY" CHRIST! LEAVE "MY" CHRISTMAS ALONE! AND TELL EVERYONE MERRY CHRISTMAS, NOT HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! COPY &amp; RE-POST IF YOU’RE NOT ASHAMED.</blockquote></blockquote><br />I'm not ashamed of Jesus, but you won't catch me copying and re-posting that.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong; I'm all for people standing up for what they believe in,<br /><br />BUT...<br /><br />Let's face it not everyone is a Christian. I haven't looked up any statistics, but it seems like Christians are in the minority these days. And that is sad. If we're not in the minority then that is even sadder.<br /><br />As Christians we are supposed to be Fishers of Men! Sheep Who Make More Sheep! Sowers of The Word! Lights In This Dark World! That is...we're supposed to be doing our part to increase the number of Christians on this earth.<br /><br />Griping about "taking Christ out of Christmas" to people who already think we're kooky for believing such "nonsense" as a Savior who is half man-half God, born of a virgin, who went around preaching about the Kingdom of God, performing miracles, was crucified, rose from the dead three days later, then ascended to Heaven to come back for His followers at some point in the future, does not seem very productive to persuading them to become one of "us".<br /><br />Does it <b>really</b> matter if someone says Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas? <br /><br />Can an alternate greeting really <b>take</b> Christ out of Christmas?<br /><br />Saying Happy Holidays can't take Christ out of the hearts of his followers anymore than saying Merry Christmas makes a believer out of a non-believer. <br /><br />Instead of getting offended and griping about something as trivial as a holiday greeting, <br /><br />WHAT...<br /><br />IF...<br /><br />All the Christians thought about how our society got to this point where people don't KNOW Jesus or even WANT to know Him, and did something about that?<br /><br />We are Christ's ambassadors on this earth...the only Jesus that some will see. <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">1 John 3:8</span><br /><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3;">Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.</span></blockquote><br /><br />If we let our actions show the LOVE of God, we <b>will</b> keep Christ in Christmas <i>(and every.other.day.)</i><br /><br />Isn't that what Christmas is REALLY about?<br /><br />__________________________________________________<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/f2rR1SDqwLs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com1http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/im-about-to-get-preachy-yall.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-22252631295441990772011-12-11T14:28:00.001-05:002011-12-11T18:35:49.864-05:00We Now Own A GerbilYes, us..the family that had the <a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/intensive-care-for-christian-unschooler.html">mouse</a>/<a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/ptss-post-traumatic-snake-syndrome.html">snake</a> ordeal over the summer. The family who left the house for a week over the snake in the house. The family that is still mostly paranoid about being in the house where the snake and the mouse were..now owns a rodent.<br><br>How did this happen? You wonder..<br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/we-now-own-gerbil.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
<a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?a=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:4cEx4HpKnUU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?i=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:4cEx4HpKnUU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?a=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?i=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?a=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?a=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?a=dpfhocu4S08:ClpactIKDVw:ANkz6nJbUoM"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom?d=ANkz6nJbUoM" border="0"></img></a>
</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/dpfhocu4S08" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/we-now-own-gerbil.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-69483980726244233192011-12-11T10:32:00.003-05:002012-10-02T13:17:51.132-04:00I Tied For Second Place....<blockquote class="tr_bq"><a href="http://yeahisaiditblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/announcing-results-of-everyday-hilarity.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MsSYqqv8pRc/TuTFhmQ8ZZI/AAAAAAAAAMo/iDb0iclylaE/s320/Everyday%2BHilarity-5.jpg" width="198"></a>Danielle assured us that there were more than 3 entries, but she didn&#39;t specify how many...maybe 4??..<br><br>Anyway, I&#39;m honored and thrilled that my story was chosen as one of the winners! </blockquote><br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ecaBiEfSGCc/TuTIEooQszI/AAAAAAAAAM0/N8l3XXmfSvA/s1600/vampire_wig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody></tbody></table><br>Here is my entry:<br><br><br><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>It Will Grow Back..Won&#39;t It?</b><br><br><br>&quot;It will grow back, won&#39;t it Mommy?&quot; Those are the words that my clueless mother heard me say one early morning in 1975.<br><br>&quot;What?&quot;, she asked.<br><br></blockquote><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-tied-for-second-place.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/H-Bo031bPPo" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-tied-for-second-place.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-4338106574308633672011-12-01T11:15:00.001-05:002011-12-11T18:09:33.504-05:00A Lesson About Writing<b>or was it?...<br></b><br><br>I&#39;ve always felt like I should be writing a book. A novel to be precise. Most of my life that feeling has been there. I love to write. Sometimes. But I don&#39;t have much of an imagination. So I&#39;m not sure why I have always felt this- especially the part about writing a novel. I don&#39;t even read much fiction. Give me a good book of facts and I&#39;m all in. Last year, I thought that blogging would satisfy that feeling. That I just needed to write. Period. But that feeling is still there.<br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/lesson-about-writing.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/ZT1jZqJHffE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/12/lesson-about-writing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-56022249129197969732011-11-16T12:04:00.002-05:002011-12-11T18:08:57.987-05:00The Truth About The Perfect Husband(According To My Son)<br><br>I&#39;m not exactly sure how we got on the topic, but earlier Padawan was (lovingly) pointing out some of his Dad&#39;s inconsistencies concerning honey-do&#39;s that I have literally been waiting years for him to do, and other things that I did not want him to do that he did anyway.<br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/truth-about-perfect-husband.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/FyS07leCsuY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/truth-about-perfect-husband.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-42419220795423300732011-11-15T15:19:00.001-05:002011-11-17T21:06:53.985-05:00Well, That Was (almost) Fun!My Mom recently took pity on us that we haven&#39;t done anything exciting as a family <strike>lately</strike> in a long time due to $$, my husband&#39;s long hours, and my disability. She offered to pay for Hubs to take Padawan to a local Monster Truck event at the end of September.<br><br>Now, there are two words that will motivate me to push my physical limitations- even if I have to pay for it the next few days. The first one is BEACH. The second one is MONSTER TRUCKS. <br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/well-that-was-almost-fun.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/d9QreglHoqc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com0http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/well-that-was-almost-fun.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-85275731455780557822011-11-14T05:39:00.000-05:002011-11-14T05:39:25.607-05:00<center></center><center><a href="http://yeahisaiditblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/everyday-hilarity-writing-contest-with.html"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jp7CqSbYRnE/TrcBS3vKSXI/AAAAAAAAAeM/207i8TGszMs/s1600/Everyday+Hilarity-3.jpg" /></a></center><br /><br /><br />If you have a hilarious story, hop on over to Danielle's blog @ <a href="http://yeahisaiditblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/everyday-hilarity-writing-contest-with.html">Yeah, I Said It</a> to find out how to become a contestant too. You could win a crazy wig of your very own!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/n30AvpOKwbs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com1http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-you-have-hilarious-story-hop-on-over.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-27414177200794283962011-11-14T00:54:00.002-05:002011-11-14T05:41:39.545-05:00My Prophetic Dreams part 3<b>Uncle R And The Strange Conversation</b><br><br>My most recent prophetic dream took place one morning this past February - the day my uncle passed away. I&#39;ll call him Uncle R.<br><br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-prophetic-dreams-part-3.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/OUfYN9W_V1U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-prophetic-dreams-part-3.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-35826570403399047452011-11-09T01:44:00.000-05:002011-11-09T01:44:45.716-05:00I've Been MIA In The Blog-o-SphereSo why haven't I posted on my blog in over a month?<br /><br />A. I was so busy homeschooling that I didn't have a single moment to myself to post anything new.<br /><br />B. I was miraculously cured and have been out gallivanting around making up for all the years I have been stuck at home.<br /><br />C. I got addicted to Words With Friends on Facebook.<br /><br />D. I started a blog series and as usual I've been procrastinating indefinitely on finishing something I started.<br /><br />E. I forgot I had a blog.<br /><br />If you guessed C and D, you win!<br /><br />Having said that, I promise not to post anymore blog series, unless I write all the installments beforehand.<br /><br />I haven't even been reading blogs as a self-punishment for not finishing what I started. I know...I'm bad!<br /><br />I have so much to catch up on!<br /><br />I hope to get back to writing about my exciting life and reading blogs again real soon....<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/-cvrCJx-0NA" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com3http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/11/ive-been-mia-in-blog-o-sphere.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-88635391739539506742011-09-23T20:11:00.001-04:002011-11-14T00:58:08.158-05:00My Prophetic Dreams Part 2The Story of Grace<br /><br />(If you are sensitive to reading personal accounts of pregnancy loss, then I suggest skipping this one).<br /><br /><br />It was around Mother's Day 2006. I had just found out that I was 2 weeks pregnant- in the midst of a 3 month long quest of me seeing doctors and trying to get them figure out what was had suddenly gone wrong with my neurological system. My husband and I <i>had</i> been <i>so-so</i> trying for another child since our son was a year old, but honestly becoming pregnant was the last thing on my mind since my body freaked out on me in February.<br /><br />Of course I was excited to find out I was pregnant! But the timing was just...well, it was JUST..<i>I was already having trouble physically doing the things I needed to do.</i> <br /><br />I remember thinking to myself, "God must have a twisted sense of humor, but He knows what He's doing..So I will trust Him. He must think I am a much stronger person than I am, but everything will be ok."<br /><br />Anyway, here I was dealing with my new mystery illness and mentally preparing myself for a pregnancy in the midst of it -after 5 years of trying when I didn't have problems before. I thought maybe the pregnancy could have been causing some of my physical problems too, so I was keeping a positive attitude and hoping for the best.<br /><br />One night when I was about 4-5 weeks along, I had a dream about one of my neice's on my husband's side of the family. She lived next door to me when I was growing up, and we were pretty close as kids. But I hadn't spoken to in in years. <br /><br /><blockquote><i>In my dream we were both pushing old-fashioned baby buggies. We pushed them down a long winding road, and then down a snowy wooded path. Shortly after we got into the woods, I stopped on a hill with my baby buggy, but she kept on going with hers -leaving me standing there alone. I called out to her, but she didn't answer me.</i></blockquote><br />Now back to REAL LIFE:<br />A few days after I had that dream, my mother-in-law informed me that my niece was pregnant too. She also told me that we had the same due date in February! BUT my neice was having a lot of complications and her hormone levels were not where they should have been. They weren't getting their hopes up with this pregnancy.<br /><br />I immediately thought of my dream. This was the second time I had a <a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-prophetic-dreams-part-1.html">dream</a> where the circumstances were playing out in front of my very eyes. I took it as a sign to pray for my neice and her baby- that must have been what the dream meant by her leaving me! So I prayed for her and her baby every time I thought of her.<br /><br />Well, as time went one she was doing much better. I, on the otherhand, was getting sicker and sicker as time passed on. Yet, my doctors would not take me serious about how <b>extremely</b> bad I felt all.the.time. My first pregnancy was perfect- except for the occasional episode of feeling hypoglycemic, and the fact that my hands were numb the entire second half. My doctors would tell me things like - "Oh, you're just pregnant. Every pregnancy is different. Blah, Blah, Blah.." <i>(Quit being a whiny baby)</i><br /><br />I was eating. I was not really nauseaous, but I was constantly wretching and dry heaving- even when I knew there was food in my stomach. All.day.long.&nbsp; I was coughing up foam. I constantly felt like I had to burp, but couldn't. I felt like my stomach contents were being pushed in the wrong direction. My heart would begin racing and I could feel it flip-flopping in my chest everytime I ate or tried to throw-up. I was so weak most of the time I could do absolutely nothing. I couldn't stand up because I was woozy. I could not lay in my bed except for a certain way- On my side propped up with pillows. It was the only way that my heart wouldn't race and it prevented whatever it was that caused me to start wretching. <br /><br />I could feel myself physically dying a little more the larger my belly grew. The baby that I wanted so much and for so long, was literally sucking the life out of me and there was nothing I could do about it. No one could see what this pregnancy was doing to me but my family. And no one would help me- not even God! I cried out to God every single day for mercy for weeks on end. I was trying to take care of the precious son I already had, and I didn't know what to do. I let God know that this was not fair! Until the beginning of that year, I had led a blessed life and I had been grateful for it. Why was He letting all of this happen to me? I felt like Job.<br /><br />One day, when when I was about 16 weeks, I was at my weakest point. My Mom was coming over everyday to cook for me and to get my son off the bus and get him to do his homework.<br /><br />After a few days of this, I decided that if I was going to live through this, I would have to get better myself. I mustered up even more determination than I was already using. I WAS going survive this pregnancy and this illness whatever it took! I WAS going to get stronger so I could take care of my unborn child, my son, and myself. I started eating constantly- making sure I had plenty of protein. I started making myself go for a walk everyday, and I stopped bending over because that seemed to help for some reason too. (Nothing about my illness ever made any sense anyway so this was no surprise to me). <br /><br />After about 2 weeks, I was gaining too much weight, but my strength was coming back. I remember telling my baby during one of my walks that we were going to make it! <br /><br />Two weeks later, the time came for my 20 week appointment in September - the one where we would get to find out the sex of the baby. My husband had to work that day, so my Mom ended up going with me. I went to the sattellite office close to my house. I remember telling the nurse that I was FINALLY feeling better, and that I felt like I was going to make it.<br /><br />Then the doctor came in and could not find the baby's heartbeat. My heart sank. She took me to another room to do an ultrasound. The machine was old, and she kept appologizing for not being able to use it very well. She tried for a good 30 minutes to find any sign of life or a heartbeat. <br /><br />Then she told me she was going to send me to the main office to have the Tech there do an ultrasound with the newer machine and NOT to worry- that it was probably the machine. I didn't know what to think. I was in shock.<br /><br />My mom drove me there, and they took me back right away to the Ultrasound room. The Tech couldn't find a heartbeat either. She did some measurements and told me that it looked like my baby had stopped developing about two weeks prior. <i>The same time I had started feeling better! God was playing a cruel joke on me. </i><br /><br />I had to wait to see a doctor to discuss my options. This was totally unexpected. I did not want to be having that conversation. I wanted to crawl under a rock. I decided that I would go into the hospital that night to be induced instead of waiting for things to happen naturally. I wanted drugs. Lots of drugs. I wanted something to numb my pain. I wanted this baby out of my body. For some reason, knowing that I had been carrying a my lifeless baby inside of me for two weeks without knowing it was creeping me out. <br /><br />My husband left work to pick me up from the doctor's office so I could go home and prepare to go to the hospital. He asked me: WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?&nbsp; The only answer I had for him was: What makes us so special that it couldn't happen to us? Things happen. <br /><br />I spent the next two nights in the hospital being induced. I was on a morphine drip. I don't think I needed it so much for the physical pain as I did for my broken aching heart.<br /><br />Our tiny little baby finally came out. They sent home later that evening. That was it. <br /><br />No visitors. No celebration. No flowers. No joy. No baby. People had wanted to visit me in the hospital, but it was not a joyous occasion. I didn't want visitors. It was a private thing between me and my husband. <i>One of my uncles did come to see me - I couldn't tell him no- bless his heart. And the Pastor from our church stopped in to pray with me. I barely remembered them being there.</i><br />We didn't even know the sex of the baby. The nurse told us that we could have them order an autopsy to find out the baby's sex and to see if they could determine what went wrong. They also said that they could have the baby cremated. So that's what we did. I wanted answers, and I needed to have something tangible to take away from this horrible experience. Something to remind me that our baby actually had existed. <i><br /></i><br /><br />Once I was home, I cried for days and days until my tears ran dry. Then I cried some more. Then one night I got drunk. I had quit drinking years ago because I was a Christian. But I was ANGRY at God and I got drunk and told him exactly how I felt and then I drank some more and I told him exactly how I felt some more. I did this until the sun came up. Then I cried some more. <i>&nbsp;</i><br /><br /><br /><br />The report came back about a week later. Our little angel was a girl. We had been discussing what we would name the baby when we found out the sex. We decided that if it was a girl we would name her Grace, but we couldn't settle on a name for a boy. Our son who was 6 at the time, asked why we weren't giving the baby a middle name. I didn't really know why we weren't giving her a middle name, but I suddenly thought of a very good reason. I said, "Daddy says that middle names are your "in trouble name". The baby doesn't need one because she won't be getting in any trouble in Heaven." <br /><br />No one was able to tell us why our baby died, but becasue of that dream I was certain that the outcome had already been determined beforehand. Although I was angry with God, I still loved Him and it gave me comfort to know that He cared enough about me to give me a piece of the puzzle ahead of time- even though I didn't have all the peices until the midst of the storm.<br /><br /><i>Day by day, and month by month, the heartache let up a little at a time, until my heart didn't ache with every breathe....Until I could think about my little angel without tears welling up in my eyes. Eventually I quit being angry with God too, but that took even longer.</i><br /><br />___________________________________________________________<br /><div style="color: #4c1130;"><i><b>In Memory of Grace </b></i></div><div style="color: #4c1130;"><i><b>September 23, 2006</b></i></div>____________________________________________________________<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The next time I had a prophetic dream was in February of this year.<br />To be continued..<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/r5qyC2gzYMU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/09/story-of-grace.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-76404975537336061292011-09-21T14:59:00.001-04:002011-09-21T15:01:18.350-04:00My Prophetic Dreams - part 1The first time I had a prophetic dream was about 13 yrs ago. It was shortly before my Granny passed away. She was in her 80's when her time came. Granny and I were very close. I was her favorite. (She told all 16 of her Grandkid's that they were her favorite, but I knew I was special because I was named after her and she practically helped raise me. She called me her girl.) <br /><br />I have forgotten some of the details since I had this dream, but I remember the important part. <br /><br /><i>In my dream all my aunts, uncles, and cousins were planning my Granny's funeral. I remember they had every detail planned down to the day and the hour. They were sitting in a room like they were waiting for the service to start. I was upset because I was doing my best to make them understand that she was not going to show up because she was still alive. Eventually some of them went outside the room to wait, but most of them just sat there. </i><br /><br /><b>Real Life:</b> After waking, I still remembered every detail of this dream. The next time I saw my Mom, I told her all about it. A few days to a week or two later, I got a phone call at work from my Mom telling me that Granny had been rushed to the hospital from the nursing home with congestive heart failure. She had what they were calling a death rattle, and everyone said that was a definite sign that she wouldn't be with us very long. The doctors said to call the family in and gave her less than 24 hours. <br /><br />My very large family sat at the hospital all night taking turns going into her room 4 or 5 at a time to be with her in her final hours and to say our goodbyes. There were at least 30 or 40 of us there at the hospital.<br /><br />My aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered and began making funeral arrangements. They decided that if she did indeed die on x day, the funeral would be on x day. They decided who was going to go buy her some funeral clothes, and&nbsp; if I remember correctly, one of my uncles even contacted the funeral home to make it official. <i>(Almost EXACTLY like it played out in my dream!)</i><br /><br />My Mom was the one who had been taking care of Granny for the most part ever since I could remember, so she was there with Granny the whole time. She told Granny that it was ok to go. She let her know that we would all miss her very much, but it was ok... Granny who was all of 4-foot-11 and stubborn as a mule, got <b>that look</b> in her eyes, yanked off the oxygen mask, looked directly at my Mom and said through her death rattle, "I AIN'T GOING!!!"<br /><br />Well, the next day, she was miraculously doing a lot better. The doctor came in the room during his rounds and could not believe she was still with us. He let us know that if she wanted to fight it, he would fight it with her. <br /><br />The details about this next part are all fuzzy now, but I remember there was a pattern. She would get worse; the doctor would tell us this was the end, and the next day she would be miraculously improving by the time the he came in -- just to prove him wrong. Because that's the way Granny was!<br /><br />At some point during the next 24-48 hours, at two distinct times she had a stroke which left her paralyzed on one side of her body and unable to swallow, and also came down with double pneumonia. So each time, they let us know that it wasn't going to be long and called the family back in.<br /><br />The next day, she was showing signs of improvement.&nbsp; <br /><br />She was eventually moving her leg and her arm that had been paralyzed by the stroke, and regained her ability to swallow. The doctor said in disbelief that these changes were not supposed to be happening that quick-- if at all! He said that had never seen anything like it, and he threw his hands up in the air. He told us he was not making any more predictions, and that God obviously was putting him in his place.<br /><br />I remember most of my family spending days at the hospital not sleeping and not wanting to go home, because we wanted to be there with her when the end came. After all they told us it was eminent. But Granny didn't want to go, so she wasn't going! I was afraid of losing my job, so I decided to go back to work. My Mom promised me that she would call me if there was any change.<br /><br />About a week or so later, Granny got well enough to go back to the nursing home. She had been back there for about a few days to a week before her only kidney shut down and she passed away. I was at work when it happened, but God had that planned too. My aunt had gone home to get some rest. Her house was close to my job, so we rode out to the nursing home together. We comforted each other on the way there. <br /><br />The day Granny passed away, I realized that God had sent me that dream giving me just enough to let me know that He was there and He was in control. <i>And of course to prepare me for what was about to happen.</i> Because of this, I also knew <b>that I knew</b> that I knew that she was in Heaven, and and that Heaven was indeed a real place. There was no question in my mind. I believe God also used this dream to bring me back to Him, because although I was saved, I wasn't living like it at the time.<br /><br /><br />Little did I know that I would have this same type of dream two more times shortly before He would call someone close to me home.<br /><br />___________________________________________________________________<br /><br />To be continued...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/-YVynIc1aF4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com2http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-prophetic-dreams-part-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2871811186601922632.post-240870372373599912011-09-16T11:34:00.001-04:002011-12-11T18:12:00.363-05:00Did I Say That Out Loud?Last night/this morning was one of those times that I had crazy, vivid dreams. <br><br>In my dream I had showed up at church on a Wednesday night after not having been there for 5 years <i>(that&#39;s how long its been in real life)</i>. A bunch of crazy weird stuff happened, but I mostly remember that my church family was excited to see me. After church was over they gave me some gifts for our homeschool. <br><br><a href="http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/09/did-i-say-that-out-loud.html#more">Read More &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=eclectiathome-20&o=1&p=7&l=ez&f=ifr&f=ifr" width="468" height="40" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" border="0" frameborder="0" style="border:none;"></iframe></div><div class="feedflare">
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</div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EclecticRamblingsOfAStay-at-homeMom/~4/7_8jbu9tRzY" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17671123263627692797noreply@blogger.com6http://eclecticramblings.blogspot.com/2011/09/did-i-say-that-out-loud.html